


priorities

by jayhood



Category: Batman (Comics), DCU (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics)
Genre: Adopted Sibling Relationship, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Angst, Family, Gen, Teenager-typical issues, parenting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-27
Updated: 2020-04-02
Packaged: 2021-03-01 08:27:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23348422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jayhood/pseuds/jayhood
Summary: Anonymous asked:Prompt: Damian and Jon need a baby sitter for a night, and Jason is the only person available.
Relationships: Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne, Jason Todd & Roy Harper
Comments: 20
Kudos: 84





	1. Jason

**Author's Note:**

> There is no universe in which Jason babysitting Damian and Jon makes sense to me if it’s not a no capes!AU.

Jason was adopted 3 years ago when he was 13.

He had one blissful year at the Manor.

That's kind of the only thing that makes him stay there, still. That, and high school graduation is so near he has a calendar on his wall. He gave up on it once, he doesn't want to lose his chance again.

You can call him obsessed. He was told he is a bright student, so he just needs to apply himself. He tries, okay? It’s still hard. He needs all the help he could get only he can’t ask for help. Who would he ask? Other people from school? Assholes. Friends? Not tutor material. Bruce? Yeah, right. Dick hadn’t had a formal education until his 7 grade either. Damian didn’t go to school until last year. They both excel. Jason doesn’t have an excuse. If he goes to Bruce, it will be all,  _ well _ , if you hang out with Roy Harper  _ less _ , if you stop  _ picking fights in school _ , if you read less  _ fiction  _ and more  _ textbooks _ . 

“I believe in you," Bruce often says. "You’re such a bright child. You can do anything if you put your mind to it.” 

So what does it mean for Jason that he fails? Is Bruce wrong and Jason is dumb as fuck, or is Damian right and he is just lazy and weak, like  _ his mother _ was, like  _ Willis  _ was, that’s why they were poor and died?

So, Jason needs time, alright, more than he has left, to straighten out his records, so he could apply to colleges and, maybe, even get a scholarship - Bruce can afford tuition for  _ 100 Jasons _ but. Jason caught a tail-light of Dick’s fights with him. They weren’t about money, exactly. They were about Bruce trying to control every fucking thing. And it  _ is _ , Jason thinks even when  _ Dick denies _ , a little about money, deep down. Jason doesn’t think he will be able to say fuck you to Bruce as freely as Dick if it comes to that. And he doesn’t think he has it in him to go the catwalk model route. 

When Cass arrives, Jason kind of feels better. Bruce has even less time now to ask him how he does at school. Or go with him to baseball games, or ask him where he’s going so late at night or where he spent a weekend, or talk to him about his future at Wayne Enterprise...  _ What fucking future _ , Jason doesn’t say,  _ with your blood son here being groomed to take over since his birth? _ Should Jason, what, fight him for it? Accept the job knowing there won’t be ever a chance to grow? Count him out.

So yeah,  _ Cass _ , she’s nice and all, even if she can’t really stand Jason - he’s  _ too loud _ for her, too  _ angry _ , too  _ ungrateful _ , or whatever. She  _ is  _ nice and takes up a lot of Bruce’s time, and the rest is divided between Damian and WE and whatever else. No one is on Jason’s case. That’s how Jason prefers it.

Sometimes Bruce remembers him. Usually when Damian gets into fights, then it's all 'Don’t be  _ like Jason _ , Damian. You see he doesn’t have any friends outside of no-good junkie Harper? You don’t want to be  _ like Jason _ , do you? And you, Jason, don’t be  _ like Jason  _ either, you have a little brother now, you need to be an example for him. Why the fuck none of you are Dick. Not you,  _ Cass _ , you’re perfect.'

It’s not  _ always  _ like that. Sometimes it like this:

“Cassandra has a ballet recital tonight,” Bruce says. “Do you want to come, either of you?”

“Jon is supposed to arrive here in 40 minutes,” Damian scowls. “You arranged it with Kents, don’t you remember?”

“I have homework,” Jason says.

“So you will be staying at home, then, will you?” Bruce hums. “No sneaking out to catch a train to Star City?”

“Oh my god, it was one fucking time!” Jason says. That Bruce knows of.

“That I  _ know of _ , and don’t swear,” Bruce says. “Then it won’t be a chore for you to keep an eye on your brother and his friend.”

“Uh, it will? If you need a babysitter, you should  _ hire _ a babysitter. It’s not like you can’t pay. Or there’s, you know, Alfred.”

“Alas, Carrie is not available tonight, and I won’t allow a strange person without proper background checks to step inside the house where my children live. And Alfred won’t be staying at home, he expressed a desire to see your sister’s success himself.”

“I don’t need a babysitter,” Damian says. “I’m  _ ten _ .”

“Yes, you do,” Bruce and Jason say at the same time. Bruce adds, “I promised Clark there will be supervision”.

“Look, I don’t care, I’ve got work, alright?” Jason says.“ Hire a ffff…reaking agency temp or something, they do background checks themselves.”

“Not as thorough as they should. You weren’t with us yet when Dick was kidnapped the first time, the nanny did it. So you see why it is not an option.”

“Why should I care? I am not, again, a babysitting service!”

“Do you want me to  _ pay  _ you?” Bruce snaps. “Is that what it is about? Where does your allowance go? I pay for  _ your clothes _ , I buy you  _ all the video games _ that are released for that big dumb thing in the living room…”

“I have a trust fund, Todd,” Damian reminds - for the countless time, but sullenly this time. Nobody notices. “I will pay you  _ not  _ to babysit me.”

“You mean  _ Dick’s _ gaming system? Like I or Damian ever touch it if we don't have people over and that happens lately, lemme think,  _ never _ ? Because Cass is _ so fragile _ and  _ easily overwhelmed _ , Jason, if  _ you had better friends _ , Jason…”

“If Harper could be trusted to behave in a civilized manner…”

“You  _ never  _ minded him when he was  _ Dickie _ ’s friend!”

“Dick stopped being friends with him for a reason!”

“Yeah, ‘cause Dickie  _ is a pig _ now!”

“Because  _ Dick  _ is mature and responsible and yes, an  _ officer of the law _ . And Roy is someone who this law  _ breaks _ . I thought you wanted to distance yourself from that world!”

That’s.

Jason gulps down his angry tears.

“Because my mom died a junkie, huh? I guess I’m like  _ my father _ , don’t know when to cut loose  _ dead weight _ .”

“Jason,” Bruce stops shouting and continues more quietly. “Of course you’re nothing like your father. You and Willis are...”

“I meant  _ you _ , you asshole.”

Jason gets up from the table but Bruce catches his wrist. He doesn’t say anything for some time though.

“I am just worried about your relationships with Roy,” he says eventually. “You know the story only from his perspective.”

“He is my friend now, not Dick's, so it’s kinda enough.”

“No, it isn’t. Dick wouldn’t just leave a friend in trouble, you understand that, don’t you? But time passed, and Roy refused to be helped. Dick grew up and Roy didn’t. And, Jason, Roy is older than Dick is. Haven’t you asked yourself  _ why _ he wants to be friends with you?”

“Not this thing again,” Jason groans. “We  _ are _ just friends. It is because I’m cool and all-around awesome and he’s a  _ certified genius _ so he recognizes that. And I guess he’s enough of dumbass to keep hanging around even if the rest of my family are such  _ dicks  _ to him. But even  _ if _ whatever lifetime movie playing in your head was true, you know you don’t gotta, like, be so fretful about my virtue or whatever? It’s, like, 4 to 5 years too late for that, depending on your definition of virtue.”

Bruce squeezes his hand even harder.

Jason shuts up.

“You are a vile human being,” Damian proclaims, ruining the moment, as Damian does, and turns to Bruce. “Do you really consider him a responsible and trusted person? Jon and I will be much better off without.”

“Yes,” Bruce said. “I do.”

Jason just. Crumbles onto himself.

“Yeah,” he says, “All right, fine, great.”

Math could wait.


	2. Roy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For Amyma, who wrote:" ...can i ask roy's point of view about the situation? As an inspiration"  
> So here it is.

What does Roy think about it all?

He thinks maybe Ollie was right. Maybe, he really made some mistakes he can't ever take back, squandered his future and all the chances he was given, and there's no coming back from it. Because right now? He has one friend only, and it's the uncoolest person in Gotham. Maybe in the whole world.

"That's why you couldn't come to my band practice?" he asks, surveying the room.

God, legos are everywhere!

The smallest Wayne scowls at him. Jon Kent, always the sweetheart, waves at him shyly.

"Shut the f-heck up," Jason says and goes to sit with the kids, leaving Roy standing at the entrance to the living room. "We need to get it done before everyone comes back and gives us hell for the mess."

When he scowls, he looks just like his little brother! Both of them would barf if he told them, so that's what he does.

Jason's hand reflectively comes up, undoubtedly to give Roy the bird, but he quashes the impulse at the last minute. Damian does not. Jon giggles.

"I thought you were studying though," Roy says, taking place beside Jason and picking a few pieces to take a closer look.

It's not that Roy is bothered that Jason lied to him. Roy is a lot, he knows. Jason is allowed to refuse to hang out with him if he doesn't feel like it. Just, he could have said so.

'And you would whine and moan about how shitty you're feeling and how you don't want to be alone,' a voice inside Roy says. 'And so of course he would cave and come. He pities you, and you use it.'

"It's that Star Wars set, the Millenium Falcon one," Jason explains, noticing how still Roy is.

"It's a Death Star!" Damian argues.

"Again, Damian, just because you want to build a Death Star, doesn't mean we have all the necessary pieces for it!"

"We can try, though," Jon says. "How hard could it be?"

Famous last words.

And that's how Roy ends up spending the whole evening at Wayne Manor, playing with building blocks. He still remembers times when he was cool. Parties, girls, friends that didn't prefer to hang out with toddlers instead. Jason gives them all snacks though, before leaving Roy to fend for himself and escaping to the kitchen to cook dinner. Roy would ask him why bother if they could just order pizza or something but he's pretty sure Jason is fed up with his little bro's snide comments.

Which, served him right for ditching Roy for this and lying about it, only now it's Roy stuck with two pre-teens and a couple thousands of lego pieces that are most definitely not from the Death Star set.

It takes some time to corral the kids into listening to him, Damian especially hard to get through.

"You look like you can't even dress yourself. Why would I trust you to build my spaceship?"

"Excuse me," Roy says, mock-offended, "between the two of us, who build an actual rocket for 7th grade science fair?"

"Did it actually fly?"

Roy shows him the video, still on youtube. One of the rare moments Oliver was around enough to actually participate in minute things like Roy's education. Boys are suitably impressed and want to immediately stop what they're doing and build a rocket themselves. Roy keeps them on the current task by promising that the next time he visits, they will build robots. Which, in his opinion, is way cooler. Jon seems to think so too, so it's two against one. Damian sits back on the carpet, radiating dissatisfaction, but starts actually listening to Roy for once. Yay for Roy, evil is defeated.

Jason comes to check up on them not long after.

"It's awfully quiet here, is everything alright?"

"It was," Damian says, "until you came back. Go away, you're interrupting."

Jason huffs, and looks at Roy. "Sorry," he mouths, gesturing at the kids.

Roy gives him the okay sign. Jason, looking relieved, leaves.

It's actually not that bad. Calming, in a way. The whole day he was feeling on edge. Feezing. When he's like this, there's only so many things that can snap him out of it. Drugs are obviously off the table, now. Drinking, too. He doesn't want to swap one addiction for another or compromise his recovery in any way. Or maybe he does, he doesn't know. It would be so easy to slip back, he thinks sometimes. He knows what to expect right now, he will be more careful, he can handle this.

Roy shakes his head to clear his head of those thoughts. No, he doesn't actually want that.

So when he is like this, there are even fewer options than before. Sex helps, but he doesn't have a girlfriend right now, and one-night stands are, he found, not for him. Being around loud, rowdy people that are always up to shenanigans would maybe work, for a while, when he was with them. Dick, Kory, Wally, Donna. Donna. They all have their own lives right now, though. Jobs. Families, kids. Good for them.

It's not like that with Jason. Jason is reserved. If you didn't know him at all, you would think he's dismissive, thinks he's better than you (that's maybe he gets into so many fights at school), or just doesn't care if you here or not. Truth be told, even now when Roy knows him, sometimes he still doubts. "A book is the man's best friend," he told Roy once (after he lost a fight to Damian's dog). Sometimes Roy thinks that's all Jason needs, or ever needed: for people to let him read in peace.

You can talk to him, though, really talk. Say the dumbest shit. Be weak. He couldn't do it with anyone else, before. He was worried what they will think about him. His best friend's unwanted little punk of the brother? Roy didn't care that Jason thought. That made it easy. And then Roy somehow started to care but it didn't seem to matter. Because there wasn't any judgment from Jason, ever. Jason gets it.

Being with Jason helps in the other way, too. Sometimes Roy is sick of talking. He just wants a distraction. And there's no better distraction than to rile Jason up. Sometimes with his words, sometimes it's more physical than that. Jason hates when you mess his hair! It's not because he does something with it, like Dick. He just straight-up hates it and would fight with his fists if needed. Usually, Roy wins. Lately, though, it's harder, and more and more often it's because Jason stops struggling and just lies there, watching Roy unblinkingly. At times like that, there's an alarm bell in Roy's mind: attention! Danger! Disengage! And so he does, reluctantly.

He doesn't want to, usually. There are not many people in his life close enough for casual touching, lately, so it's nice. But it starting to look like Jason doesn't want that, and for an entirely different reason than him. Talk about awkward.

Roy doesn't want Jason to have a crush on him. Dick accused him of this, once. That he uses Jason to get back at Dick. That he uses Jason because he's too young to know better. Dick is wrong on so many levels. Jason is mature. He's passionate but he's smart. And Roy wouldn't want to take advantage of him even if he could, anyway. He knows he was a hot mess at 16. He remembers all sorts of inappropriate people he had a crush on. It didn't mean he was ready to be in relationships with them or even wanted to. He wouldn't betray Jason's trust like that.

So perhaps he should lay off with play-fighting for a while. And hugs. And affectionate kisses to Jason's cheek in lieu of hello, which always makes Jason swear and demonstratively wipe his face. No falling asleep on the same horizontal surface either, or each other.

But that would also suck. Maybe he could just introduce Jason to a girl? They have pretty similar taste, Roy thinks, remembering baby-faced Jason being introduced by sour-looking Dick to all their crew. Jason blushed when Donna smiled at him, and really couldn't look Kory in the eyes after she hugged him.

Maybe Jade has a nice friend? Roy thinks it and immediately dismisses the thought. Nice? That's unlikely. Still, he didn't hear from her for a few months, now, he should check up on her.

He sends her a text right then and receives shit for it from Damian.

"We only have time until the dinner!" he says. "Then Jon's parents will take him away and we will never finish it!"

Roy looks at his watch. By his count, they don't stand a chance anyway.

In the end, it’s not a Millennium Falcon, and it’s definitely not a Death Star, but it is a spaceship. Even Damian is satisfied with results, even if it took Roy walking the boys through the science of it, and things got heated for a moment.

Jason sneaks into the room then, presumably to bring them all juice. He stays for a second, taking it all in. When Jon and Damian are sufficiently distracted with warring over who gets orange and who gets pineapple, Jason squeezes Roy’s hand briefly.

“You’re good with them,” he says.

He doesn’t sound surprised, only a little sad. A little wistful. Right. For all Roy thinks Ollie is an asshole, neither Mia nor Connor treated Roy as though he doesn't exist, or shouldn't.

Roy squeezes his arm back.

"You got any homework done, nerd?" he asks.

Jason shoves him away, gesturing at the spaceship.

"Like you have any room to talk, Mr. Rocket Scientist." Then Jason turns slightly away from him and smiles shyly. "Yes, I did. Thanks."

"Anytime," Roy says. He means it, and it's important for him that Jason knows that. "You know you can just call me, if you need me, right?"

Jason grimaces at that, so apparently not. That's when they hear cars pull into the drive outside of the house, and Jason gets up, wiping his hands on his jeans nervously.

Roy watches him go. When he looks back at kids, Damian staring at him looking like he wants to ask something. Roy sighs.

"Let's just pile the leftover pieces back into the box, alright?|

They do just that. Roy is half-listening to what's going on in the hall.

The door opens. There're heavy steps.

"Are boys alright?" It's Bruce Wayne.

"Yeah. They had snacks and juice, and I cooked dinner."

"You left them alone?"

"They're not alone, Roy is with them."

"Roy Harper? I did not allow you to invite him when I am not here."

"What, you need to supervise me too? Should I leave my bedroom door open when he comes over?"

"Actually, yes." That's Dick's voice.

Roy winces.

"So what was that about, earlier? I'm only responsible and trustworthy when it's convenient for you?"

There more people coming up.

"Master Jason, please," Alfred's voice. "We have guests. What is this smell? Oh, you shouldn't have, Master Jason, we had gotten take-out."

"I can see that. Who's this?"

"My friends," a quiet, girl's voice says. Cassandra.

"So she's allowed to invite friends, and I'm not."

"Cassandra warned me ahead of the time, and Tim and Stephanie are nice young people. Tim attended the same school as you, even. They are staying for dinner. But I'm afraid we didn't know Roy was coming over and didn't bring enough for one more person."

"Oh, that's okay. We're not staying. I'm going to catch dinner at his place."

Roy rubs his face.

Great, now he's in the middle of another Wayne scandal. And Damian is scowling at him again.

"No, you're not! We are going to have a family dinner. Together, all of us."

"And two people you never met before in your life, apparently."

"I met Tim before. This year, he has taken over his parents' company, Drake Industries, and we..."

"Oh, good for him. I'm sure you have a lot to talk about. He will make a much better dinner companion than me. Roy!" Jason hollers. "We're going."

That much Roy gathered.

He sighs. getting up and saying "Later, brats," to the kids. Jon waves at him again, carefully pretending nothing is happening (must have a lot of practice, based on what Roy has heard about his family situation). Damian surprises both of them by saying that he would rather have him at the dinner table than Drake.

"I suppose it's a fair price to pay for getting rid of Todd, though," he says rather loudly, looking into the direction of the hall.

Just as Roy started to like him, huh.

There's a lot of people in the hall. It's easier to tell who is absent: Alfred, probably went to the kitchen to take care of take out. Cassandra and the not-Drake friend of hers.

Jason is facing off with Bruce, a jacket and a school bag in his hands. Dick is near the door, with his hands on the shoulders of a young black-haired boy, even younger-looking than Jason. If not for his clothes (a suit and a tie, god), he would look like a rather uncanny copy of Dick around that age.

"M.r Wayne," Roy says. "Dick."

He nods to the kid.

The kid nods back, and Dick looks at him with a thin veneer of disappointment, but Mr. Wayne does not look away from Jason at all.

"You're not going anywhere," he says. "It's late. There's school tomorrow."

"Yeah?" Jason says. "And how do you think you can stop me?"

Jason grabs Roy's hand and drags him toward the exit. Wayne's hand shoots forward, catches him by the arm. Jason flinches and looks back at him. Roy can't see his face. He can see Wayne's face becoming stony, though he does take his hand off Jason.

"If you leave now," he starts, but Jason doesn't listen.

"Yeah, yeah," he says. He continues toward the door, dragging Roy with him.

When they're passing Dick and the Drake kid, Dick looks at Roy with so much blame, it physically hurts. So Roy clenches his jaw and knocks his shoulder into Dick when it becomes obvious Dick won't be stepping aside.

"Jason, hey," the kid suddenly says. Jason looks at him over the shoulder. "I can... I can leave. If I.... I don't mean any trouble."

Jason shrugs.

"It doesn't actually change anything, does it?"


	3. Dick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What does Dick think about this whole mess? Dick thinks no one ever asks for his opinion but he's going to give it none the less.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will try to make a POV of each character but, I dunno. It's no longer a story about Jason Todd kidding himself, thinking he's so smart and independent staying with the Waynes for all the benefits it gives him (like education) but in truth striving for a family.  
> It's more about how families are: you can put your family first the whole life, and still mess up, again and again.  
> I don't know if this fic is ever going to have a resolution. A happy ending. People talking things through, making up for their mistakes, resolving their conflicts. So read on your own peril

The three of them are still standing there after the door closes behind Jason and Roy. They hear Roy’s bike, and that’s what makes them unfreeze. Bruce hunches on himself, and Tim looks from him to Dick.

“I can go,” he says, apologetic. “I never meant to be any trouble.”

Dick sighs. Tim is a sweet kid. He ruffles his hair.

“It’s not about you, Timmy. How about we go find girls, huh? Bruce,” he nods at his father. “I will meet you in the kitchen.”

Dick accompanies Tim to Cass’s room and leaves him there in her and Stephanie’s hands. It’s hard to gauge what Cass is thinking about the scene that played out just now, but Steph makes herself clear as soon as the door is closed after Dick. He hears her muffled: “God, what a dick! I mean, Jason, the asshole. Oh, come on, guys, you know what I mean!”

Dick chuckles to himself. It’s not like she’s wrong. Jason could be a pain in the ass. It wasn’t always like this, though. But, Dick supposes, now it doesn’t matter. Now, he’s remembering that first year Jason came to live at the Manor, but after Dick got to know him a little. He remembers feeling guilty for being cold and cutting to him at first, and now he just can’t figure out why.

He checks upon Damian and Jon in the living room. They say they’re good, and demonstrate him a spaceship they apparently built with Roy’s help when Jason ditched them. They don't _look_ good, though. Jon tries too hard to seem like he heard nothing. Years of practice, Dick supposes. And Damian asks if Father was the one who invited Drake.

"You know him?" That's a surprise for Dick.

"Grandfather mentioned him a couple of times when we spoke on the phone. He admires his mind and dedication to the family business at his age. Apparently, Father does, too."

Damian's grandfather is an asshole. He's the sole reason why Bruce decided to get custody of Damian. From what Dick's gathered from Bruce's terse explanation, Talia is not that bad, and she obviously loves her son. Ra's... his definition of love was not in any dictionary Dick's ever read. Otherwise, maybe, Damian would know less foreign languages and more Pixar movies. 

It would be nice if Bruce's efforts to give Damian a happier childhood didn't end on getting Damian away from him.

Dick reminds them that the dinner is going to be served in twenty, so they should clean up after themselves and go wash their hands. Boys run away to Damian’s room, and Dick carries on to the kitchen.

He hears Bruce’s voice before he turns the corner, and he slows down.

“I don’t know, Alfred,” he sounds absolutely defeated, and Dick hates Jason for making Bruce sound like that. “Perhaps, I made a mistake with Jason.”

Dick freezes.

“I don’t know what I was thinking. I’m… not what he needs. He made it more than clear.”

Dick senses Alfred disapproval even here, in the next room.

“Don't be too quick to give up on him,” Alfred says. “When things are the toughest, it's then your help matters the most."

“I’m not  _ giving up on him _ , Alfred!” Bruce gasps. “I just… I wonder if I should have become a father at all. I failed with Dick, I am failing with Jason. I wonder if Damian wouldn’t be happier with his mother instead, sometimes.”

“He would be happier if you remembered at least to say hello to him after you come back,” Dick says, harshly, stepping into the kitchen.

Bruce looks at him, something flashing on his face almost like shame, but it’s over in a second, and now Bruce looks just like the man who attempted to forbid Jason leaving the house.

“But it’s always easier to beat yourself in the chest, self-flagellating than actually try and be better,” Dick sneers.

“Thank you for the parenting advice,” Bruce says.

He doesn’t do sarcastic inflection but there’s enough ice in his words to know he’s far from grateful and more like pissed.

“Yeah, well, you need it,” Dick says, crossing his arms on his chest.

"You love making me the bad guy, don't you?" Bruce says. "Because it would make every hurtful thing you threw into my face justified. But do you really think you would have done a better job, in my place?“

Dick thinks about the doctor’s visit Kory has scheduled for the next week. She made a test but they want to be sure. It’s what he was going to talk to Bruce about, Cass’s recital just an excuse to come by. 

He knows he won’t be saying a word of it now. 


	4. Cass

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cass never had friends over before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My first attempt at writing Cass ever. I gathered inspiration from Batgirl (2000). It's hard to switch Cassandra's story and character to a non-powered, no-capes AU. But I hope I was able to get at least something right.

Cass never had friends over before.

She didn't have friends at all when she was with Cain. He wouldn't allow distractions. With Bruce, it was the opposite. He barely allowed her to attend the dance school in Gotham. He didn't want her to compete.

"You understand why, don't you?" he would check. "All your life before was centered around it. It's not right. You should be normal."

What was normal, though? The only thing she knew was ballet. 

"Yes," she would say. "I understand."

He was worried. He was also wrong. She snuck out. A community center had free dancing lessons. It was not the same. It was better. No pressure. She was dancing for herself. And she met Steph. Steph was taking self-defense classes.

When Bruce found out, Cass thought he would be mad. Cain would have been. She wasn't scared. She was ready. But Bruce just arranged Alfred to take her and pick her up. Then he offered to enroll her in a real ballet school. He allowed her to stay out late so she could meet with Steph. He, Alfred, Dick came to her performance. 

It was Bruce who invited Steph and Tim. Cass doesn't even know Tim. She met him today. He is Steph's boyfriend. Steph likes him. Bruce likes him. Dick and Alfred do. Jason doesn't.

They go down for dinner. Damian does not like Tim either. Cass doesn't know why until Bruce speaks. First, he asks Cass to tell about her performance. She shrugs. He was there. He saw it. What is it that he wants her to tell? 

He switches to Steph, asking her if she is into dancing, too. Steph says no, but does not elaborate. Steph is usually very loud and talkative. Here, now, she seems subdued. Cass wants to take her aside and ask why. She does not know how to phrase the question. She does not know if Steph won't be offended. Cass probably won't ask. Still, she wants.

Bruce starts talking with Tim, then. Asks him how come he's the CEO at his young age. What are his plans for the future. What do his parents think about it. Damian listens. He is more gloomy by the second. He catches himself stooping. He makes himself sit right, unclenches his fists. To seem indifferent. That's what Jason did in the hallway when they came back. Cass glances back at their father. Does he see it too?

He does changes the topic and asks Damian and Jon about their day. How was it with Jason and Roy? Jon talks for both of them. Cassandra thinks he is overplaying a bit. How fun Lego could be? Only puzzles are more boring.

"Damian?" Bruce prods.

"Fine," he says. "At least, after Todd ceased his unnecessary commentary about how to build my space ship. He obviously does not have an eye for engineering. He should stick to what his inferior brain able to comprehend, like soft sciences."

"Damian," Bruce cautions. 

"What? We all know that even after tutoring, he can't get higher than a B+ in Algebra. And his tutor gave up on him."

"Babs didn't give up," Dick says. "She just has a heavier course load now. She graduates from college this year."

Tim perks his head.

"I can help with that!"

Everyone looks at him. Steph's eyes are very wide. Tim glances at her and his eyes become very wide too.

He looks quickly at Bruce and starts talking fast.

"I mean, I can tutor him instead! I know Math. Obviously. I graduated already. And it's not like I have a nine-to-five job. And it feels like we started off a wrong foot, I think this can help."

Steph closes her eyes and shakes her head. Damian stabs a meatball with his fork. The plate clunks loudly. Dick proclaims Tim a very brave and selfless man. Bruce asks Tim and Steph would they like a ride home after dinner, and where to take them.

When Steph says her address, she smiles very bright and speaks a little louder than usual. The question bothers her. Cass looks over the people around the table. She sees only Bruce reacting. The frown is barely there, just for half a second, but it makes Steph sit straighter and Tim - touch her hand briefly.

It's another thing Cass wants to ask Steph about. It is, she thinks, probably the same thing.

After dinner, Cass, Steph, and Tim are allowed only an hour before they have to leave. It's a school day. Yes, Cass does not attend school, Tim is his own boss, and Steph says she is used to going to school on even less sleep. Bruce is not swayed. It is hard to change his mind about something. Unlike Cain, though, Bruce explains that a lack of sleep causes severe consequences for teenagers. Steph still does not look happy. But Cass ask Bruce right then and there if she can invite Steph again, and he says yes. 

It's confusing how earlier tonight Cass did not know what to do with people visiting her at home. And now she does not want them to go. They are not even doing anything. Just talking. Steph and Tim talk, mostly, but they are okay with Cass listening, and speaking only rarely.

When they are leaving, Cass sees them off to the door. Bruce is already waiting. He motions to Steph to go ahead and wait in the car, and asks Tim to speak with him one-on-one for a moment.

Cass goes back to the room. On the stairs, she looks over her shoulder. Bruce has his hands on Tim's shoulders. She hears only:

"You don't need to go out of your way to make people like you."

Cass doesn't feel great about overhearing. She doesn't know how Tim feels about it. He was when Bruce asked to talk to him. Now? She can't tell by his posture.

It's good advice. Cass remembers Tim's offer to tutor Jason. That would have been a disaster. Tim even recognizes that, and still offered.

Cass thinks, she likes Tim too.

**Author's Note:**

> I have a Jason Todd blog [here](https://redjaybathood.tumblr.com) at tumblr


End file.
